Novikov Telegram

DOCUMENT #12: Novikov Telegram (September 1946)

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The Soviet ambassador in Washington D.C., Nikolai Novikov, drafted this telegram to Moscow (the capital of the Soviet Union and the Soviet leadership) to reflect what he believed about American intentions after World War II.

The foreign policy of the United States, which reflects the imperialist [1] tendencies of American monopolistic capital [2], is characterized…by a striving for world supremacy… For this purpose broad plans for expansion have been developed and are being implemented through diplomacy and the establishment of a system of naval and air bases stretching far beyond the boundaries of the United States, through the arms race, and through the creation of ever newer types of weapons…

American nuclear bomb test in the Pacific, 1946.

At the same time, the USSR’s international position is…stronger than it was in the prewar period. … The Soviet armed forces…are located…[in] Germany and other formerly hostile countries, thus guaranteeing that these countries will not be used again for an attack on the USSR. …In formerly hostile countries, such as Bulgaria, Finland, Hungary, and Romania, democratic reconstruction has established regimes…[that have] friendly relations with the Soviet Union. In Slavic countries that were liberated by the Red Army—Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia—democratic regimes have…established…relations with the Soviet Union on the basis of…friendship and mutual assistance. …

The United States no longer follows a policy of strengthening cooperation among the Big Three [3]…but rather has striven to undermine the unity of these countries. … The present policy of the American government with regard to the USSR is also directed at limiting or dislodging the influence of the Soviet Union from neighboring countries. The United States attempts…to support reactionary forces [4] with the purpose of creating obstacles to the democratization of these countries. In doing so, it attempts to secure positions for the penetration of American capital [5] into their economies.

Helpful Definitions

[1] Imperialist - seeks to create an empire

[2] Monopolistic capital - accusation that the United States' economic system is run by powerful corporations that do not allow for true competition in the market

[3] Big Three - The wartime alliance between the United States, the Soviet Union, and Great Britain

[4] Reactionary Forces - Those who want to keep things as they are by preventing change; usually used by Communists to refer to anti-Communist groups

[5] Capital - Money, resources, investments, businesses, etc...

Source: http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/history/johnson/novikov.htm

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Who was Novikov’s intended audience? How might that have affected his statements?
What did Novikov believe were the goals of the United States?
How did he believe the U.S. would attempt to accomplish those goals?
How did Novikov view the Soviet international position?
What would the Slavic countries become in relations with the Soviet Union?
GROUP RESPONSE: If an American read this document, how do you think he/she might respond? Explain.